Limits on air fares have been set in seven bands as per the
flight durations and they would be in place till August 24, said Civil Aviation
Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday.
IMAGE: A passenger wearing a protective mask walks
inside an airport terminal following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease in
New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
The minister said the first
band, which would have its specific lower and upper limits of air fare, will
consist of flights that are of less than 40 minutes duration.
Second, third, fourth and
fifth bands of upper limit would be of flights with durations of 40-60 minutes,
60-90 minutes, 90-120 minutes and 120-150 minutes, he said.
The
sixth and seventh bands would consist of flights with durations between 150 and
180 minutes and 180 and 210 minutes, he stated.
Aviation Secretary P S Kharola, who was also present at
the press conference, said 40 per cent of the seats would have to be sold at
the mid-point of the lower and upper air fare limits set for the flights.
The
minister said he can't comment right now on when flight operations would be
restored completely.
If
a passenger does not have the Aarogya Setu app on her or his phone for some
reason, she or he can give a self-declaration form, the minister said, adding
that such a passenger will not be stopped from boarding the flight.
The minister added that
private carriers will join the Vande Bharat mission to repatriate Indians
stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic.
About a third of operations
will be allowed under strict norms when domestic flight services restart on
Monday after a two-month hiatus and all the airlines will have to adhere to the
upper and lower limits of fares prescribed by the government, the Civil
Aviation Ministry said on Thursday.
In a set of detailed
guidelines, the ministry advised the vulnerable people like the elderly,
pregnant women and passengers battling health issues to avoid air travel till
the coronavirus pandemic abates. People residing in the containment zone will not
be allowed to travel.
All passengers will have to
provide their medical details through the Aarogya Setu app or by filling up a
self-declaration form. They will have to go for web-check-in as physical
check-in counters in airports will not operate.
The rules included no meals
on board, mandatory temperature checks for all passengers and allowing only one
check-in bag for each passenger. People who were tested positive for COVID-19
will not be allowed to travel. All the passengers will have to wear masks while
entering the airports and thereafter.
Passengers will have to
report to airports two hours before flights are scheduled to depart and they
will have to strictly follow social distancing rules.
The government's decision
to allow domestic air travel comes days after the government relaxed norms
allowing economic activities to resume in a bid to revive the economy hit hard
by the coronavirus lockdown.
Operations of all scheduled
commercial passenger flights were suspended on March 25 when the nationwide
lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic came into force.
"All stakeholders such
as airlines, airports have cooperated. So we took the decision to resume
flights from May 25," Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said
addressing a press conference.
Puri said all the air
travel routes have been divided into seven sections based on duration of
flights ranging from 40 minutes to 210 minutes. The aim of the exercise is to
control the fares.
The civil aviation
secretary said 40 per cent of the seats in any flight will have to be sold at
the mid-point of the lower and upper air fare limits prescribed for any route
by the authorities.
He said only one-third of
the flights will be permitted to operate from metro to non-metro cities where
weekly departures are more than 100.
"The passengers are
expected to certify the status of their health through the Aarogya Setu app or
a self-declaration form," said the ministry.
Airports have been advised
to earmark areas for isolation as well as to carry out COVID-19 testing of
suspected passengers.
According to the
guidelines, the airports will have to ensure easy availability of hand
sanitisers at all entry points and at various touch points.
The ministry also allowed
resumption of services by all food and beverages (F&B) outlets on the
condition that they must follow all COVID-19 precautions.
Take-away, digital
payments, self-ordering booths at F&B and retail outlets to be encouraged
to prevent crowding of people,’ it said.
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